Pete's Disney Springs Parking Rant

[Suvadoo]

I wonder if the issue is too much construction.

1) Construction at DTD.
2). Construction at MK
3). Construction at the Poly.

Am I missing anything? And DTD is a major re-haul. Disney has no excuse though they knew this was coming. Plans for alternative parking should have been more thought out.

I don't think it's too much construction. I think Disney is rationing the payouts to all of these projects so everything gets delayed.

 

[Suvadoo]

That's not what I meant at all comparing Transformers to a parking structure is like comparing a banana to an apple. Transformers is a mostly steel building with a ride that they had already built before and could be built off site and shipped in. A parking structure is completely different as it's all concret much like when they build a new hotel.

If this were the first parking garage ever built or even the first parking garage ever built by Disney, maybe you'd have a point. But Disney keeps starting construction projects throughout the resort and leaves everything unfinished for a extended period of time. Seriously, they should be ashamed of the way they're treating guests during all of this construction.

 

[SuperNinja]

Incompetent and Inefficiency. Those were the two words I immediately think when listening to his rant.

It is just unfortunate in my opinion that in a big corporation setup such as Disney, there is bound to be a group of highly incompetent people. A key decision maker type of people who just can't make a good decision about anything. And the most unfortunate thing is, if they are deemed as a failure, instead of letting them go, they will be moved to a different department that often times doesn't even have anything to do with their skill set and expertise, and will keep on making more mistakes until they are moved to a different department. And the guy who is replacing him, is probably a failure from another department. The cycle will continue until a higher management is replaced with someone who really takes his job seriously.

And also I notice in the same setup is that some people are just too convenient with their job. They are taking their time to complete a task. Some people are just milking it. It's just sad. I had a privilege to work directly with Disney on one of their campaigns a few years ago. While I really like their work flow, they were very inefficient in executing it. I notice that some of the people in the group were obviously taking their time to finish stuff. I'm not exaggerating to say that things that my agency could get done in less than a day, it took them a full week to complete. They assigned a few people to do a one-person-job, making it so inefficient.

I will say this again, a lot of these people above, they are milking it. They don't care about Disney, they could care less about what Universal is doing right now or if Universal is raising their game. They live in a bubble.

Don't get me wrong, hearing someone gets laid off is always unpleasant, regardless their performance. But if effective and efficiency are what Disney aiming for, then they need to start trimming their dead branches, otherwise things like the parking debacle will keep on going.

 

[LilyWDW]

No problem, but now they're restricting parking access at POR and SP to prevent people from parking there and catching a boat to DD

Good! I'll be blunt. I stay at POFQ and one of the reasons is the boats. I shouldn't have to also fight with people from other places taking up a very restricted number of seats already. It's a perk of staying at those resorts and should be kept as such.

That said, I will say this. I have worked with construction companies in the past. I think it is not fair to say one way or the other what is going on when you really have no idea. We are not privy to the information. We are only making assumptions. I will say, it took over a year for my old university to build a parking garage in a very similar situation (had to close parking lots for it and it caused a mess with closing roads).

 

[kbelle8995]

Good! I'll be blunt. I stay at POFQ and one of the reasons is the boats. I shouldn't have to also fight with people from other places taking up a very restricted number of seats already. It's a perk of staying at those resorts and should be kept as such.

That said, I will say this. I have worked with construction companies in the past. I think it is not fair to say one way or the other what is going on when you really have no idea. We are not privy to the information. We are only making assumptions. I will say, it took over a year for my old university to build a parking garage in a very similar situation (had to close parking lots for it and it caused a mess with closing roads).

For me it's not the construction but Disney knowing this was going to happen and not figure out the parking before they began construction.

 

[SmithSmith]

Pete! People! Concrete structures, like a parking garage, take time. Each level of concrete poured needs a significant amount of time to cure. So relax, Disney is not dragging its feet. Just be thankful that it'll only take a year. I've worked on larger structures that took over two years to complete! Anyone who thinks that Disney could erect a parking garage in less time has no idea about what they're talking about. You absolutely can not compare a steel attraction like Transformers (which will probably be replaced in 20 years) to a concrete structure that is built to last.

 

[Suvadoo]

Pete! People! Concrete structures, like a parking garage, take time. Each level of concrete poured needs a significant amount of time to cure. So relax, Disney is not dragging its feet. Just be thankful that it'll only take a year. I've worked on larger structures that took over two years to complete! Anyone who thinks that Disney could erect a parking garage in less time has no idea about what they're talking about. You absolutely can not compare a steel attraction like Transformers (which will probably be replaced in 20 years) to a concrete structure that is built to last.

The problem is: no contingencies were in place to help with this mess. People are stuck in traffic jams before they arrive at DD and that's before they even start searching for a parking place. That's the part that really bothers guests.

 

[SmithSmith]

The problem is: no contingencies were in place to help with this mess. People are stuck in traffic jams before they arrive at DD and that's before they even start searching for a parking place. That's the part that really bothers guests.

I understand that, and I agree. I was speaking specifically about the parts in Pete's rant where he declares that a concrete parking garage could've been built in 6 months! Not gonna happen!

 

[PUSMMA]

I understand that, and I agree. I was speaking specifically about the parts in Pete's rant where he declares that a concrete parking garage could've been built in 6 months! Not gonna happen!

Thanks SmithSmith, as someone who has worked in construction I'm glad this point was made. Concrete and steel are so different. Honestly think the year is not to bad.

Now that being said, come on Disney. You should have planned for this. Same thing happened in California when they built the garage there. So much for learning from past experiences.

 

[*NikkiBell*]

I understand that, and I agree. I was speaking specifically about the parts in Pete's rant where he declares that a concrete parking garage could've been built in 6 months! Not gonna happen!

I am glad that you came here and let us know. I am stunned that it can take a year or more to build a parking garage. Ugh!

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

If this were the first parking garage ever built or even the first parking garage ever built by Disney, maybe you'd have a point. But Disney keeps starting construction projects throughout the resort and leaves everything unfinished for a extended period of time. Seriously, they should be ashamed of the way they're treating guests during all of this construction.

I'm sorry but you seem to have no idea what you are talking about. Universal when they built transformers and the new wizarding world of Harry potter paid their construction crew to work 24 7 Disney has decided not to do that because they want to avoid disturbing guest during the evening hours. Yes it may be taking longer than you and other poel on this board would like just suck it up and let Disney finish it when they finish it.

 

[Suvadoo]

I'm sorry but you seem to have no idea what you are talking about. Universal when they built transformers and the new wizarding world of Harry potter paid their construction crew to work 24 7 Disney has decided not to do that because they want to avoid disturbing guest during the evening hours. Yes it may be taking longer than you and other poel on this board would like just suck it up and let Disney finish it when they finish it.

So the reason the MK hub and DD is taking so long is because they don't want to disturb guests? What guest are in these place overnight?

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

So the reason the MK hub and DD is taking so long is because they don't want to disturb guests? What guest are in these place overnight?

Um in nearby hotel rooms. I don't know about you but do you really want to hear construction noise well you're on vacation. Plus the hub expansion is a completely different project as they are doing it with in operating hours of the park a bit like they did with the mine train.

 

[beaprn]

I agree with some of petes rant on the podcast but the transformers comparison was a bit much as it was the third time they had built it. They had already built it in Universal Hollywood and somewhere overseas before, and they probably had construction running 24 hours a day where as Disney may not be. Plus it's a parking garage they want it built safely as they don't want to have it collapse on opening day.

It is a parking garage, it is not complicated. I should not take this long to build, the plans contain all the safety features! As to 24hr construction. why isn't Disney doing it to get this done. It is not like they do not have the money for crying out loud! Meanwhile they are blocking several front rows of the parking places near Disney Quest with valet parking spaces which are never even near full but leave it to Disney to figure out a way to charge for a good parking space even when there is free parking to be had.

 

[SmithSmith]

Thanks SmithSmith, as someone who has worked in construction I'm glad this point was made. Concrete and steel are so different. Honestly think the year is not to bad.

Now that being said, come on Disney. You should have planned for this. Same thing happened in California when they built the garage there. So much for learning from past experiences.

No problem PUSMMA.

I also wanted to point out to everyone that pouring concrete in Florida weather would require special attention and be more time consuming because of the excessive heat & humidity, as well as the daily rain showers. Uncured concrete is fragile in a sense because it cannot be exposed to rain, if it's is, it'll crumble once it's dry. With that said, I agree with you, a year is not so bad.

 

[AndyPok1]

As people say, it takes a long time to pour concrete around here. Come downtown, the high rises take YEARS to build, and its almost all because of getting the concrete form.

And, there's a reason I'm not an imagineer... But there's a saying that you can't present a problem unless you have a solution. To get a garage that size built, parking was going to be a mess. I really can't think of a better solution outside of putting a ton of parking up by the distribution centers and then shuttling people down the back part of BVD. But I'd much rather just park at TD and walk over... which is the solution they came up with.

Don't get me wrong. I can't stand the parking situation at DTD either. I've gone without Black-Truffle-Salt for MONTHS. That is a true hardship.

 

[SeanWM48]

i'm very new to the podcasts, would you guys mind sharing the link or title to this parking rant it sounds great haha

 

[Hunterr]

A huge parking structure takes time. The maze of walls is more maddening than parking.

Also, I go DTD a lot, and even on the busiest nights, there always seems to be a spot in Team Disney. And if not, it's definitely a more manageable place to park than the actual spots available at DTD. It's just a short walk across the street.

The only place to park if you get there early in the day is Cirque area, which will avoid the massive lines to get out (unlike the marketplace parking area).
Even if I leave Cirque parking later on when it's packed, I've never been caught in a line of traffic from that area. The marketplace is maddening to get out of, so yeah.

No, it's not ideal, but whatevs. Small roadblock.

 

[Suvadoo]

i'm very new to the podcasts, would you guys mind sharing the link or title to this parking rant it sounds great haha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M32_3Kt2M04&feature=player_embedded

 

[dgramling]

As far as how long it takes to build a parking garage, a built in place parking garage does take quite some time to build, but if Disney would have gone the way of a pre built garage it could have gone up much faster. In my hometown they brought in a 5 story parking garage in pre built pieces, took only a few months. As far as parking at DTD currently, there was no forethought put into it. If they were going to require people to park at Team Disney why not build the pedestrian walkways first to keep people off the surface streets. They have closed off a lot of parking for valet, why not have the valet cars park at team Disney and shuttle the valet drives back and forth. I have never understood the bus routes to downtown Disney I think that alone adds time to get to and from DTD as they are trying to avoid driving along Buena Vista Dr in front of DTD